A Spark in the Dark
by AriaGS
Summary: Before Avengers Age of Ultron. The Avengers fight HYDRA agents but Natasha gets hurt. BrucexNatasha mild flirting. This is my first fanfic and the story is better than the summary, please read!
1. Chapter 1

Tony walked slowly to the table, his science buddy and the Russian assassin were the only ones sitting there chatting happily.

"And did you?" He heard Natasha asked the doctor.

"I had to, it was the only way I could get out" Bruce answered.

She giggled "I can't picture you running in a dress"

"Believe me, I've tried to forget about it" Bruce said smiling.

Super creepy assassin beauty, giggling? That was new, thought Tony.

He went to them and sat on the chair next to Banner, who was in front of Natasha.

"What were you talking about?" He asked them.

"Dresses" Bruce joked and Romanoff smiled.

The billionaire frowned and asked:

"Where are the other ones?

"They won't take much longer" Natasha answered him.

And with that Clint and Steve appeared.

The Captain took a sit next to Black Widow and Clint in one of the edges of the table.

"Stark" Steve greeted Tony

"Cap" He said back

"Have you been here a long time?" Barton asked his best friend

She shook her head

"About fifteen minutes ago, then Banner arrived and finally you two and Stark"

"Stark arrived after ginger and greeny" Tony corrected her

Clint snorted, usually Natasha would have kicked the ass of whoever called her ginger but they were all used to being called names by Stark so both she and Bruce rolled their eyes.

"Why did you call us, Stark?" Steve asked him

Tony, who wasn't paying attention returned to earth

"O yeah, I actually didn't call you, so don't get too excited Cap. Fury asked me as a favor to summon you all"

"Where is he then?" Bruce asked him

Tony shrugged

"No idea, he said he'd be here"

In the mean time they order something to eat and started telling each other news about their life to catch up.

"Thanks for everyone's help when the crazy terrorist blew up my house!" Stark exclaimed with sarcasm.

"I honestly thought it was a movie!" Clint told him

Then the "god" of Thunder arrived "Greetings friends!"

They all said their hellos

"What are you discussing?" He asked them

"We're just catching up, a terrorist blew up my house" Tony informed him

"Nat and I were fighting HYDRA" Steve told him as an excuse

"I was too busy hiding" Bruce added

"I was in Asgard" Thor said

Tony rolled his eyes.

This time Thor talked

"You all missed the battle in London"

"I was fighting HYDRA with Steve" Natasha told him

"I was too busy rebuilding my house" Stark added

"I was still hiding" Bruce said

"I did a _Lord of the Rings_ marathon, when the battle was over I was barely starting to watch _The Two Towers"_ Clint said as if that counted as an excuse

Thor frowned

"Two Towers? What are the Two Towers?"

"It's the second film of _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy" Banner tried to explain

The Asgardian still puzzled, nodded, he was going to ask Jane a lot of things when he got home.

Nick Fury entered

"We need you, the world needs you" he started saying

Tony yawned

"Cut the crap, what is it?"

Fury sighed and said:

"Terrorist HYDRA agents are taking the Empire State building to release a nuclear bomb. What is left of SHIELD is doing the best they can but we need you"

"Right now?" Bruce asked tiredly

Fury gave him the one eye glare and the scientist looked down ashamed

After he gave them instructions they went to the Avengers tower where they all suit up and got into one of the super technologic helicopters. They landed on the top of the Empire State Building.

Steve took a step forward and instructed them

"Natasha, Stark and I will stay here, Clint get on top of that antenna and shoot HYDRA's agents. Thor, you and the Hulk will go down the building and bring the agents here, I don't care if you have to chase them, just make sure they get here"

They all nodded and went to their positions. Less than five minutes later lots of agents were now on the roof. The battle started. Clint shot a lot of them from the top while Captain America and Black Widow fought with their ninja moves and Tony started hacking the nuclear bomb system.

"How are we doing Stark?" Steve asked him while he hit an agent on the stomach

"Pretty good, JARVIS is almost done, just cover my back" he answered

"Thor, is everyone coming here?" Natasha asked him

He took a while to answer; the mortal terrorists were not as easy to fight as he had thought. "Most of them, I and the angry Hulk are fighting some rebel ones that do not wish to go with you"

"Got it!" Stark said at last "I only need to go to the top and unwire some things you will not understand so protect my suit from being attacked, I need to be deeply concentrated"

"Roger that" Clint said

A lot of agents realized Stark's plans so they started to fire against him, Nat and Cap had to double their efforts.

When they thought everything was getting soother a guy with a cannon appeared, Steve was in the middle of a strong fight and Clint was dealing with a guy that had climbed next to him; the Russian assassin was left alone, it wasn't the first time, she ran to the guy with the cannon and hit him. He was strong and did not flinch so she decided to kick him, this time he fell and placed the cannon on the floor so he could get rid of her, she grabbed his arm and broke it and if that wasn't enough she also knocked him. After Romanoff was done, she picked up the cannon, disarmed it and threw it of the building. Being off guard, another agent took advantage and pushed her off, by miracle she got hold of a tube but with nothing to take impulse of she only had her hands preventing her from death.

"Help!" She screamed to her microphone

"Nat? Where are you?" Steve asked worried searching for her with his eyes

"I'm hanging on the left side of the building, I… I'm not sure how much will I be able to resist" She answered. Natasha was worried sick, she wasn't ready to die! Not now, she thought, please not now.

Just when Steve was getting there another two guys came for him.

"Tasha, hang in there!" Clint yelled

Tears pour down her face, was she crying? That was new, she hadn't cried for real in years. Even in this circumstance she felt stupid and weak by doing it.

"Stark! Leave what you are doing and go for Natasha" Captain America ordered him

"I can't!" the billionaire replied "If I do, the bomb will activate and we'll all die, just hang in there Romanoff, I promise I'll get there"

She yelled angrily, her hand had begun to bleed. "I don't want to die" she whispered to herself

Steve had heard her "You are not dying Nat, just wait!" A lot more of agents had arrived and one of them hit him so hard he fell on his knees.

Clint was now covering both Stark and Rogers, if he moved they wouldn't make it.

Thor's microphone had fallen without him noticing and Hulk didn't have one.

"I can't do it anymore!" Natasha said bitterly

"Natasha don't let go!" Clint yelled

She yelled again, her palms wouldn't hold much longer and her arms hurt a lot.

"Romanoff! Don't let go, don't you dare let go" Tony ordered

Steve got where she was at last! He handed her his pal, she smiled and reached for him but someone pulled Captain America back, he saw the horror of his reflection in Natasha's eyes, her hands slipped and that's the last thing he saw.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys, this is the second chapter, please review and I'm sorry if there are mistakes, english is not my first language.

It happened so fast that he got up and fought fiercely the last men there, maybe it was the shot of adrenaline or something beyond his power because he was done with everyone after that.

Stark went to him and asked looking around "Where's Romanoff?"

Rogers looked down.

Tony full of fury took him by the shoulders as strong as he could "You said you had got her!" he yelled

Clint came down too, at the sight of the two men he fell on his knees and covered his face.

"Guys?" A voice came through the microphones

"Banner?" Tony asked

"Yes" He answered

"What is it?"

"I caught Natasha on the air, well the Hulk did but she's unconscious" he answered slowly

Steve covered his face "Thank God!"

Clint looked up and Tony smiled, then he asked "JARVIS, how far is the hospital?"

The super intelligent computer answered "About ten minutes, Sir"

Tony nodded "Thanks JARVIS, Banner, I'll see you down in a sec"

"Ok" the scientist answered

Clint got up "We'll meet you at the hospital Stark"

Without another word Iron Man flew away leaving Captain America and Hawkeye alone. They ran down the stairs where they found Thor, after explaining him everything; the three of them went to the hospital.

When they arrived Bruce and Tony were talking to the receptionist. Stark was still in his armor with the exception of his helmet and Bruce was shirtless and without shoes.

"How is she?" Stark started asking

"We don't know yet" the middle age woman answered

"C'mon! Work with me woman" Tony started to tell her

"Sir, please don't yell and get your armor off, this is a hospital not a war zone!" She said back

Bruce sighed "Just tell us how she is doing"

"I can't give you that information Sir, and please, get a shirt on"

This time Clint stepped in "So you do have that information!" he snapped

The lady took a deep breath; everyone had started to look at them.

Tony Stark was now annoyed so he looked directly at the woman and said in an authority voice "Listen Ms, you don't want to give us Natasha's status; you are scolding us and trying to make us wear decent clothes. Do you have any idea of who I am? Of whom we are?! That woman over there just saved your life by risking hers so, stop being a jerk and let us see her!"

The woman did a crooked smile "No" she said

"That's it!" The billionaire yelled and took out his phone "I'm buying this damn hospital!"

The woman snorted, but Stark was serious.

"Pep? Yeah it's me Tony, yeah I'm fine…. Listen I need you to buy the hospital next to the sandwich place you like… No, the green one. You want to know why? Natasha almost died and some random receptionist won't let us see her… Yes I tried telling her we just saved her ass… No! I want to buy THIS hospital. Of course is for the assassin… Virginia Pepper Potts JUST BUY THE DAMN HOSPITAL, I'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING LATER!... I'm sorry for yelling at you, but you aren't listening… ok… ok! I'll wait"

"Are you done?" The woman asked him

"Yes! My girlfriend will send me a message with the documents once she has bought it" He answered

She laughed until Tony's phone started ringing, he got it out

"There, the hospital is mine" and with a smirk he showed the receptionist the documents.

She went pale and pointed at a nurse so they could follow her.

The new owner of the hospital grinned at her and started walking towards Natasha's room, the Avengers stood awkwardly and followed. The nurse that was guiding them stopped in front of a room, they entered and saw the read head laying on a hospital bed with her eyes closed as if she was in a deep dream.

Tony stayed in front of her bed next to Thor while Clint and Steve got close to where her head was resting in the right and left side

Bruce stayed with one foot inside the room and one out; his science buddy frowned at him.

"I was the one who hurt her" He explained

"And the one who saved her" Thor added making everyone look at him "What? It is true!"

Tony laughed "Of course it's true, get your ass in here Banner"

Bruce nodded and went in, closing the door behind him.

"Is she sleeping?" The mighty Thor asked

"Yes" Clint answered and patted her head "If she weren't she'd have broken my arm for touching her hair"

"Don't give her ideas" Bruce said half joking half serious.

Tony sighed "It's funny to see the person you're scared of being so vulnerable"

Thor frowned "You are scared of her?"

This time Steve answered "Everyone should be"

"I say we take a picture of her and make posters of it so we can place them all over the city" Stark said cheerfully

Natasha's eyes twitched, only Clint noticed, then she lifted her middle finger towards Stark

"She's back" he announced

The Russian assassin smiled

"You worried us for a moment Romanoff" Steve told her

"Yeah, we even bought a coffin" Clint joked

She tried to sit up but failed "Why does my body hurt so much?"

Bruce stiffened and explained "Because of me… after you fell I saw you and the other guy jumped and caught you, but he hurt you in the process of landing"

The doctor took a step back, Natasha made all the effort she could and finally sat up covering the pain she was feeling with a warm smile "Thank you Bruce" she said

He nodded awkwardly; the spy knew that if she acted wounded Bruce would start to blame himself for what had happened to her. She being alive was a miracle; there was no point on trying to find who was responsible. To change the subject she asked them how they had got inside the room.

"Our friend Tony bought the hospital!" Thor answered

"Because of me?" She asked surprised

"Yes, and for that grumpy receptionist, she made me want to fire her and for that to happen I need to be her boss" Tony explained

"What did she tell you?"

The billionaire sighed "She told me to take my armor off! And wanted Banner to put a shirt on, hello! It's a free country and I am Anthony freaking Stark… she also wouldn't tell us how you were"

The red head looked at Bruce and asked "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

He covered himself with his arms "I didn't have time to put on anything after the other guy left, except some pants I found"

The door burst open, Pepper entered, she had two hand bags in each arm, and she went to Natasha and hugged her. "Tony told me everything, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay, a little hurt but nothing that won't heal in more than a week" The red head answered

Pepper smiled to her, and then she turned and started to talk with everyone else so Natasha got close to Clint and whispered "Help me stay straight"

Hawkeye understood. She was pretending to be okay for some reason, so he put his hand on her back so it looked like he was hugging her. She looked at him and gave a "thank you" smile.

Steve noticed "Guys, why don't we all let Romanoff rest?"

"Sure" Pep answered and took Tony's hand before going out and everyone followed leaving Clint and Natasha alone. She fell on her back "It hurts so much!" she complained

"I can see that!" he told her "Why do you hide it? No one's going to criticize you for being hurt after you fell of a freaking building"

She frowned. "Seriously Clint? I'm not pretending because I'm afraid they'll say something. Banner is not comfortable when he uses the big guy on fights so if he knows that he almost broke every bone in my body he'll refuse to use the Hulk again"

Barton arched his eyebrows "So what's your plan? Pretend you're fine around him even though you are dying of pain?"

"Basically"

Captain America entered "What's going on?" he asked them

This time Clint explained "Natasha feels like crap but she won't tell Bruce cause she's afraid he'll blame himself"

"Is that true?" Steve asked her

"Yes, thanks so much Clint" she said with sarcasm

"No problem" Barton answered

The super soldier sat on a chair "You are probably right, besides it's my fault"

"It's okay Steve, I don't need a babysitter" Nat told him

"Make a mental note" Clint ordered him

Steve chuckled


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! This is the last chapter, I hope you like it. I am going to continue making Avengers fanfics so I would really appreciate it if you would read all of my other stories; I am new, so thanks a lot. Please review it would really help me.**

 **I also want to add that I don't own the Avengers (obviously).**

Pepper, Tony and Bruce went in the room again.

"What are you guys doing here?" Pepper asked Steve and Clint "I thought we would let Tasha get some rest"

"Busted" Tony joked

Pepper rolled her eyes and Bruce stood next to them awkwardly.

Natasha gave Clint a quick look and he helped her up making it look as if he was giving her a goodbye hug. He and Rogers got up and waved at her before leaving the room.

Bruce on the contrary took a step closer to the bed

Pepper noticed and ordered him gently "Bruce, let's leave Natasha so she can rest"

"I'll get out in a sec" he told her.

Before Pepper could reply Tony took her hand and dragged her out.

The two last remaining people in the room smiled to each other shyly

"How are you feeling?" He asked her

"I'm pretty tough, don't worry doctor, you didn't break me" she joked

Bruce looked down

"You really have nothing to worry about" The spy insisted

He covered his face "Natasha I'm sorry"

Gathering all the strength she had left, she sat up and reached for his hands, he was surprised but he let her take them.

"Bruce, I'm fine. If it weren't because of the big guy caught me I wouldn't be here" Natasha told him softly.

He opened his mouth to say something but she gave him the "shut up or I'll hit you" look.

"Okay" Banner said at last making her smile "I'll leave so you can rest"

"Thanks, see you tomorrow?" The red head asked him

He smiled "If that's what you want"

She looked down for a second and then at his eyes "I do"

Bruce blushed and took a step back hitting himself with a chair, which made Natasha chuckle

"I'll leave" he told her and walked to the door

"Bruce" she called

He turned to her "Yes?"

"Thanks again"

"No problem" he told her

She gave him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. The scientist almost drooled "I'll leave now" he repeated

"Okay" she said

He nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him. That horrible day had turned out to be one of Natasha's favorites.


End file.
